The BulleTin • Sunday, May 2, 2021 A3 TODAY LOCAL, STATE & REGION Small Northeast Oregon town to vote on marijuana — again BY JAYSON JACOBY Baker City Herald More than four years after voters in Halfway decided by a narrow margin that they did not want a marijuana dispen- sary in their town in eastern Baker County, the topic has re- turned to their ballots. The 257 registered voters in Halfway will decide in the May 18 election whether to allow not only dispensaries but other marijuana-related businesses, including growers, producers and processors. In November 2016, Halfway voters, by a margin of about 10 votes, agreed to ban marijuana dispensaries. Amy Olley of Halfway is one of the chief petitioners for Measure 1-107, along with Di- anna and Josh Welch. Olley said she and her hus- band, Derek, would like to open a marijuana dispensary in Halfway, which is about 55 miles east of Baker City. The couple initially pro- posed to open a dispensary in Halfway in 2016, prior to vot- ers banning such businesses. Amy Olley, 40, said that af- ter the 2016 vote, she waited to pursue the matter until her three children were school age. “I’m a mom, and family came first for me,” Olley said. Olley, who moved to Half- way about six years ago, said she and her husband became interested in cannabis after her husband, who played football at Boise State University from 1998 to 2001, had multiple sur- geries for injuries he sustained while playing football. He had a bad experience with prescription painkillers following one surgery, and Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald Halfway is in the scenic Pine Valley, with the Wallowa Mountains rising to the north. Halfway voters will de- cide in May whether to approve the opening of marijuana-related businesses in the town of about 300. Amy Olley said the couple be- came convinced of marijuana’s therapeutic benefits. She said they moved to Ore- gon in part because marijuana is legal for personal use in the state, while it remains illegal in Idaho. “I think it’s a fair option for people to have,” she said. “It’s about helping people have a better quality of life without re- lying on chemicals. It’s a medi- cine, not a drug.” Olley said that in addition to making marijuana more read- ily available to local residents — the nearest dispensaries are in Huntington and Sumpter; marijuana businesses are banned in Baker City — she wants to create jobs and bene- fit the local economy as well as enrich the Halfway city coffers. Olley pointed out that in 2016, Halfway voters approved a 3% city tax on marijuana sales. However, because voters also decided to ban marijuana businesses, the tax was a moot point, and Halfway City Re- corder/Manager Salli Hysell said she’s checking with the Or- egon Secretary of State’s Office to find out whether, should a marijuana dispensary open in the city, the 3% city tax could be collected, or whether voters would have to approve a new version of the tax. Olley contends that Half- way is “missing out” on poten- tial tax revenue by prohibiting dispensaries. She also believes that visitors would pay much of the taxes. “We are a tourist town,” Olley said. “These are going to be the people that support the store.” That potential for tourists to congregate in downtown Half- way is one of the reasons De- nise Cairns, a former Halfway City Council member, opposes Measure 1-107. Cairns is a director with the political action committee Committee Against Measure 1-107 ALL Marijuana Busi- nesses in Halfway City Limits, which was formed on April 2, according to the Oregon Secre- tary of State’s Elections Division. Cairns said the medical ben- efits of marijuana “is not an issue” in the opposition cam- paign to Measure 1-107. Rather, Cairns said she is concerned about how mari- juana businesses could affect Halfway and the Pine Valley. She pointed out that the measure would allow not only dispensaries, but all other types of marijuana businesses such as grow operations and proces- sors, and with no limit on the number of businesses. “That is a real major con- cern to us,” Cairns said. “We’re going to have traffic. This is a risk, and we’re not willing to take that risk as to how it’s go- ing to change our town.” It’s Sunday, May 2, the 122nd day of 2021. There are 243 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: In 1994, Nelson Mandela claimed victory in the wake of South Af- rica’s first democratic elections; President F.W. de Klerk acknowl- edged defeat. In 1519, artist Leonardo da Vinci died at Cloux, France, at 67. In 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Co. was chartered by England’s King Charles II. In 1863, during the Civil War, Con- federate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was accidentally wound- ed by his own men at Chancel- lorsville, Virginia; he died eight days later. In 1890, the Oklahoma Territory was organized. In 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Buck v. Bell, upheld 8-1 a Virginia law allowing the forced sterilization of people to promote the “health of the patient and the welfare of society.” In 1957, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., died at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. In 1972, a fire at the Sunshine silver mine in Kellogg, Idaho, claimed the lives of 91 workers who succumbed to carbon mon- oxide poisoning. Longtime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover died in Washington at 77. In 1982, the Weather Channel made its debut. In 2005, Pfc. Lynndie England, the young woman pictured in some of the most notorious Abu Ghraib photos, pleaded guilty at Fort Hood, Texas, to mistreating prisoners. However, a judge later threw out the plea agreement; England was later convicted in a court-martial and received a three-year sentence, of which she served half. In 2010, record rains and flash floods in Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee caused more than 30 deaths and submerged the Grand Ole Opry House stage. Actor Lynn Redgrave died in Kent, Connecti- cut, at age 67. In 2018, two Black men who’d been arrested for sitting at a Philadelphia Starbucks without ordering anything settled with the company for an undisclosed sum and an offer of a free college education; they settled separately with the city for a symbolic $1 each and a promise to set up a $200,000 program for young en- trepreneurs. In 2019, North Carolina lawyer Cheslie Kryst won the Miss USA crown; for the first time, Black women held the titles of Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America. Ten years ago: Osama bin Lad- en was killed by elite American forces at his Pakistan compound, then quickly buried at sea after a decade on the run. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper won a coveted majority gov- ernment in Canadian elections while the opposition Liberals and Quebec separatists suffered a shattering defeat. Five years ago: The first U.S. cruise ship in nearly 40 years pulled into Havana Harbor, restarting commercial travel on waters that had served as a stage for a half-century of Cold War hostility. One year ago: A New York City police officer was caught on video pointing a stun gun at a man and violently taking him to the ground over an alleged social distancing violation. The officer was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty the next day; he and other officers later faced disci- plinary charges. Today’s Birthdays: Singer Engel- bert Humperdinck is 85. Former International Olympic Commit- tee President Jacques Rogge is 79. Actor-activist Bianca Jagger is 76. Country singer R.C. Bannon is 76. Actor David Suchet is 75. Singer-songwriter Larry Gatlin is 73. Rock singer Lou Gramm (For- eigner) is 71. Actor Christine Ba- ranski is 69. Fashion designer Do- natella Versace is 66. Actor Brian Tochi is 62. Movie director Stephen Daldry is 61. Commentator Mika Brzezinski is 54. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is 53. Rock musician Todd Sucherman (Styx) is 52. Wres- tler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson (AKA The Rock) is 49. Former soc- cer player David Beckham is 46. Rock singer Jeff Gutt (Stone Tem- ple Pilots) is 45. Actor Jenna Von Oy is 44. Actor Kumail Nanjiani is 43. Actor Ellie Kemper is 41. Actor Robert Buckley is 40. Olympic gold medal figure skater Sarah Hughes is 36. Actor Thomas McDonell is 35. Actor Kay Panabaker is 31. NBA All-Star Paul George is 31. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is six. — Associated Press MAY 18, 2021 SPECIAL ELECTION Please visit: www.mariaforschoolboard.com Putting Kids First by Empowering Parents.” “Poniendo a Los Ninos Primero Para Darle El Poder a Los Padres” My background: I was born in Mexico and came to the US at age 5. I became a naturalized US citizen. I am bi-lingual. Fortunately, I went to predominately Hispanic schools in East San Jose, CA where there was a focus on teaching what I needed to succeed in life and business. I worked in Silicon Valley in the high-tech industry, including global supply Management for Cisco Systems. My husband of 24 years is a US Marine Corps veteran and businessman. We have two children who attend Summit HS. We love Bend and the people we have met. I want to give something back to the community and believe the best way is to get involved with the school board. I want kids in school full-time. I want teachers supported so they can be Great teachers. I want parents to have a voice in what their Children are taught. I want your support by voting for me for the Bend-LaPine School Board Zone 1 Me siento agradecida por su apoyo en votar para mi al Bend-LaPine School Board Zone 1 How I would make decisions: No. 1: Does it benefi t the student? No. 2: Don’t just listen to parents, hear the parents. No. 3: Do we have the resources needed? No. 4: Ask questions. No. 5: Don’t make things complicated. No. 6: Keep an open mind, but not so open my brain falls out. Having read the many statements from my opponent regarding her campaign for a seat on School Board Zone 1, it appears she is endeavoring to lecture the community on its failures for being white and shows little concern for the actual responsibilities of this position. I believe schools are for educating our children and preparing them for success in the world by teaching them proper English so they can communicate well, basic mathematics so they can deal with work and personal financial issues, and, most of all, the ability to think so they can form their own opinions based on what they read and hear. It appears my opponent prefers to indoctrinate them into her way of thinking so that political correctness supplants the educational process. My opponent doesn’t focus on kids or students. She doesn’t mention teaching in any context except for teaching in a racial bias sense. She is self absorbed and views the board position as a way of providing penance for her whiteness, her white fragility. We need school board members that put kids, parent’s opinions and teaching fi rst, not themselves and not unions. Th is ad is paid for by the Dauenhauer Living Trust for School Board ID 21253 Maria Lopez-Dauenhauer (dow-en-how-er) Bend-LaPine School Board Zone 1 What I advocate: • Students should be PROUD to be American • Students should be PROUD of their school • Students should be PROUD of WHO they are • Schools should EDUCATE not indoctrinate • Politics should NOT be in the classroom unless you’re teaching civics • Teen suicide prevention • Bullying education to prevent teen suicide Maria endorses: Zone 2: Wendy Imel WendyforSchools.com Zone 4: Gregg Henton HentonforSchools.com Zone 7: Jon Haff ner Haff nerforSchools.com My opponent: • My opponent describes herself as a white savior. Supports progressives and radical activists. • Teachers unions over teaching. • Her involvement with “RV Gate” She sends a letter to the City of Bend and other local agencies asking to restrict tourism and a month later she sets up her RV at Mt. Bachelor as an Airbrib. • To support her experience claim From the Bend Bulletin January 31, 2020, my opponent and her husband are accused of committing bank, business and mail fraud by my opponent’s father-in-law • My opponent says I shouldn’t be running because “She’s not from here”. I was born in Mexico. • Her fi nale, she posted pictures of our house and family on Facebook in a threatening manner. I want your support by voting for me for the Bend-LaPine School Board Zone 1 Me siento agradecida por su apoyo en votar para mi al Bend-LaPine School Board Zone 1